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Earlier this century, jatropha was hailed as a “wonder” biofuel. A simple shrubby tree native to Central America, it was extremely promoted as a high-yielding, drought-tolerant biofuel feedstock that might grow on degraded lands across Latin America, Africa and Asia.
A jatropha rush took place, with more than 900,000 hectares (2.2 million acres) planted by 2008. But the bubble burst. Low yields caused plantation failures nearly everywhere. The after-effects of the jatropha crash was tainted by accusations of land grabbing, mismanagement, and overblown carbon reduction claims.
Today, some scientists continue pursuing the incredibly elusive promise of high-yielding jatropha. A return, they state, depends on breaking the yield problem and addressing the damaging land-use concerns linked with its original failure.
The sole staying large jatropha plantation remains in Ghana. The plantation owner declares high-yield domesticated varieties have actually been attained and a brand-new boom is at hand. But even if this return fails, the world’s experience of jatropha holds crucial lessons for any promising up-and-coming biofuel.
At the beginning of the 21st century, Jatropha curcas, an unassuming shrub-like tree belonging to Central America, was planted across the world. The rush to jatropha was driven by its promise as a sustainable source of biofuel that might be grown on broken down, unfertile lands so as not to displace food crops. But inflated claims of high yields failed.

Now, after years of research and development, the sole remaining big plantation concentrated on growing jatropha remains in Ghana. And Singapore-based jOil, which owns that plantation, claims the jatropha resurgence is on.

“All those business that stopped working, embraced a plug-and-play model of hunting for the wild ranges of jatropha. But to commercialize it, you require to domesticate it. This belongs of the procedure that was missed out on [throughout the boom],” jOil CEO Vasanth Subramanian informed Mongabay in an interview.

Having learned from the mistakes of jatropha’s past failures, he states the oily plant could yet play a key role as a liquid biofuel feedstock, minimizing transportation carbon emissions at the worldwide level. A new boom might bring additional benefits, with jatropha likewise a possible source of fertilizers and even bioplastics.

But some researchers are hesitant, keeping in mind that jatropha has actually currently gone through one hype-and-fizzle cycle. They warn that if the plant is to reach full capacity, then it is necessary to gain from previous errors. During the very first boom, jatropha plantations were obstructed not just by bad yields, however by land grabbing, logging, and social problems in nations where it was planted, including Ghana, where jOil operates.

Experts also recommend that jatropha’s tale offers lessons for scientists and entrepreneurs exploring appealing brand-new sources for liquid biofuels - which exist aplenty.

Miracle shrub, major bust

Jatropha’s early 21st-century appeal stemmed from its pledge as a “second-generation” biofuel, which are sourced from lawns, trees and other plants not originated from edible crops such as maize, soy or oil palm. Among its several supposed virtues was a capability to thrive on abject or “marginal” lands